


12. Tears

by Detroit_become_Merlin



Series: YHStober [12]
Category: Yandere high school
Genre: Body Horror, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:01:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26964856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Detroit_become_Merlin/pseuds/Detroit_become_Merlin
Summary: NPG wants Grian to sort out his storage, unfortunately Mumbo, Iskall and Stress are unwilling sorters
Relationships: Hermit challengers
Series: YHStober [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1945684
Comments: 1
Kudos: 85





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I am so sorry this was late, in return here's a twoshot

Grian needed a distraction. He was flying through the jungle trying to clear his head of what NPG had done, unlike Dom who needed time alone and away from him to think, but he didn’t want to leave EX so Grian had taken to going out as much as he could.

Grian groaned, he still couldn’t believe he told Wels, and from what he gathered from Hels’s body language the sweatered man figured that Dom told Hels something as well, that’s five people now who believe Grian when he tells him about NPG’s species. Then again most of the hermits don't buy it, which was… fine, it was fine, he’d make sure that it would be fine, he just couldn’t be more open to them about it.

That would be fine; they're not therapists; after all, he couldn’t just complain to them about his problems. Couldn’t complain to them about his past. A few of them had more challenging lives, hermitcraft was supposed to be their break, their rest, it was supposed to be fun and Grian’s pulling in all these problems that have no viable solution.

He needed a distraction, and he needed one fast. 

His communicator dinged, and he landed on one of the jungle branches before leaning his back against the bark and checking it.

<StressMonster101> Hey Gri can we meet up for Hermit Challenges??  
<StressMonster101> We haven’t challenged each other yet :D

<Iskall85> ???  
<Iskall85> Now this I gotta see

<Mumbo Jumbo> yeah  
<Mumbo Jumbo> count us in

Grian was sceptical, but he instantly felt bad for being suspicious, besides a challenge could help as of right now, he didn’t particularly want to do any of the other chicken challenges, and most of the hermits have upgraded to no doors this season. Plus he had really wanted a distraction, so why not indulge.

<Grian> I’m a bit scared  
<Grian> but sure

He fell off the branch and took a moment to feel at ease with the world as the wind blew through his hair, he closed his eyes as the feeling of weightlessness took over, before activating his elytra and shooting off a rocket as his body was mere centimetres from the ground.

He broke through the canopy and glided towards the Hermit Challenges Arena, and watched as Mumbo and Iskall were in the middle of a race, both of them were grinning and laughing as they pushed one another in the air. Grian laughed at their antics and joined in by diving under them and shooting off in front of them, getting a shriek from Mumbo and a wheezing laugh from Iskall.

The three arrived in the area and found Stress waiting for them, Grian landed next to her and grinned excitedly at her as she shoved a piece of paper into his hand. They wrote on their papers as Mumbo and Iskall tried to sneak a peak or give them ideas.

Stress and Grian kept shoving them away, laughing while doing so.

They finished their challenges and placed the paper in their corresponding dispensers, but before anyone could receive a challenge the writings burned in black fire and changed, every single one of them changed, all saying the exact same thing.

Grian and Stress pressed the button and frowned in confusion “Well? What do they say?” Iskall asked peeking over Stress’s head.

“Um ‘Update My Storage” what Grian?” Stress held back her laughter 

Mumbo laughed “What? Grian you want Stress to update your storage system or something?”

Grian chuckled “What?” Grian went over and took the paper from Stress while Mumbo followed behind them “I didn’t write this,” Grian’s eyebrows furrowed, he checked his own challenge and found that the same thing was written on it, “Besides I got the same challenge.”

The three other hermit challengers stared in shock as Grian showed them his challenge, strangely enough, neither had Stress or Grian’s handwriting on them, it was more like chicken scratch as if the writer had no idea how to pick up a pencil.

Grian froze when he realised just whose handwriting it was. 

Grian calmed himself as he scanned the surrounding jungle, his purple eye shone in a faint light before quickly slipping one of his shoes off and throwing it to the top of the counter. The shoe froze in the air before flying back to Grian; he jumped back into Mumbo as the shoe made a small crater upon impact.

“Now why’d you have to go and do that?” NPG’s body draped itself across the counter as he appeared in black fire. Stress squeaked, and Iskall drew his sword as he pushed his friend’s behind him.

“That was for shifting into Gladiator '' Grian growled out, as he put his shoe back on. “I am not sorting through your macabre puppet collection” He moved to his dispenser and got another challenge, only to sigh in defeated resignation when he saw the same challenge on the paper. “You changed them all didn’t you.”

The demon dropped down, and Iskall kept his sword pointed at him, “Maybe” He grinned and turned his back on the four challengers. “I’m just letting you know ahead of time instead of forcing you into it in ‘random’ intervals as you asked of me” he flicked his tail and a broad black portal opened underneath the four challengers. They dropped to an enormous hallway with doors lining the walls with a 10 centimetres difference between them; it seemed endless.

Grian quickly got up and yelled at the demon as he helped Mumbo up “WOAH WAIT,” NPG peeked his head through the closing portal, and Grian gestured to the rest of the challengers “You can’t just leave them here, take them back.”

NPG just giggled “Nope” NPG shook his head and threw a book down to Grian “It’s as Taurtis always says Grian, ‘The more, the merrier’” with a cackle the portal closed and the four were trapped.

Grian threw the book at where the portal closed and caught it once again. Only sounds were soon heard, two sets of footsteps and a little girl singing echoed down the halls. “Uhhhh, boys?” Stress backed away from the footsteps and pulled Mumbo and Iskall back, “I think we should go loves.”

Grian eyebrows furrowed and shook his head “No one here is supposed to be alive” he whispered as the footsteps grew closer and closer. “HELLO” he yelled, and the footsteps stopped before they returned with new vigour.

“GRIAN” two bodies crashed into the small hermits, and the three fell.

“TAURTIS, ELLEN” Grian hugged them back as best as he could, pressing his face against Taurtis’s shoulder as Ellen pressed theirs against his. “How long have you two been in here” he looked worriedly at the two, scanning their faces for injuries even knowing full well that nothing could hurt them here.

Taurtis gripped Grian’s shoulder and stared into his eyes “We have been here for over five weeks.”

“WHAT” Grian yelled as Ellen elbowed Taurtis’s gut.

“Stop lying to him,” Ellen rolled their eye “we’ve been here for a couple of seconds, we started walking right before you got in.”

Grian sighed in relief and glared at Taurtis, slapping him on the shoulder. “Ellen? Taurtis?” Mumbo asked as he helped the three of them up. “What’s going on? What is this place.”

The three high school ‘friends’ looked to one another, a silent conversation flashed across their five eyes. Grian breathed and patted Mumbo on the back, “we’ll get out before you know it, don’t worry about it.” Iskall and Stress walked over to them “Iskall Stress, these are my high school friends, Ellen and Taurtis, Ellen and Taurtis these are my hermit friends Iskall and Stress” Taurtis waved at the two, and smiled, Ellen ducked their head as they noticed the Swedish man that Ellen had a vision of.

The witch bit their lip and sighed before looking up “I’m sorry, Iskall, I didn’t mean to force a fortune upon you” Iskall flinched when Ellen addressed him but nodded nonetheless.

“It’s fine, I forgive you” He sighed and sheathed his sword.

“Well it’s very nice to meet you two, but you still haven’t told us where we are Gri” Stress reminded, and Grian, Taurtis, and Ellen seemed to have another silent conversation. Mumbo grew increasingly worried when Grian sighed, and Taurtis grinned triumphantly.

“This is NPG’s storage, and he usually gets us to help him ‘sort’ through it” Grian grabbed the book from the ground, where it fell when Taurtis and Ellen hugged him and opened it. “Sometimes he gives us a list, other times he wants us to fix something he broke” he gestures to the door and starts walking, they all follow him. “Luckily he just wants us to combine 4 and fix a couple of tears in a few rooms.”

“We haven’t gone through the entire thing yet, and I’m pretty sure he has more books, and he switches between them,” Ellen said irritated.

Taurtis groaned, rolling his obsidian arm “I swear every time I enter this place this thing always acts up” he whispered.

Ellen and Grian nodded in understanding while the hermits looked on in confusion “But why do you have to do it manually, couldn’t he use a Redstone machine?” Mumbo asked.

Taurtis snorted before trying to hold in his laughter “Taurtis” Grian shook his head, but amusement clouded his eyes. “Please be serious.”

“I know, but-” Taurtis laughed.

“Don’t speak ill of the dead, they could hear you?” Ellen said half-jokingly.

Taurtis laughed, and waved at the witch, as he clutched at Grian’s shoulder. 

“Taurtis don’t bully the dead” Grian yelled at him.

“I’m not, I’m not” Taurtis raised his hands in surrender “But could you imagine it,” 

“Oh my goodness” Grian shook his head as Taurtis giggled at his own imagination, Ellen covered their mouth and stopped at the door. He sighed and turned to the hermits “listen, I think it would be best if you guys stay out here.”

Ellen nodded “It’s not the easiest thing to look at” They stared at Iskall “might be the hardest thing you’ve seen yet.”

Iskall lips thinned, what would they know? They hadn’t seen the things Iskall had seen, the things he had done. He shook his head “It’ll be fine Grian” he pushed past the sweatered hermit.

“Iskall don’t” Grian went to grab Iskall’s jacket. Still, it was too late Iskall opened the door and inside the room were shelves upon shelves of shulkers and sticking out of some of them were limbs, some belonged to mobs, others to animals, but most belonged to humans and hybrids. Hooks lined the back and on them were different torsos in varying sizes, mason jars containing eyes or ears sat in an additional shelf.

“OH GOD” Iskall backpedalled back and fell to the floor, staring at the room, it was horrifying, terrifying even if he knew about NPG being a demon. Thus he recalled a panicked stricken Dom muttering and mumbling about NPG displaying his deals, and he almost vomited.

Stress shrieked as Ellen and Taurtis tried to shield the other two from the room, but to no avail, she saw a human torso dripping blood into a bucket “GRIAN WHAT IS GOING ON” Mumbo’s eyes were crazed, he couldn’t stop looking into the room, that is until Grian closed the door.

He hands the book over to Ellen and tilts his head towards the door, “Could you two get the supplies and bits?” They nodded and entered the room. He got Mumbo and Stress to sit down next to Iskall. “I- NPG’s a demon, he makes deals for everything but souls.”

“But why? Why would he do this? Is everyone in that room still alive? Why couldn’t you reverse the deals or at least get your Watcher buddies to reverse it” Iskall got up and started pacing.

“Iskall, love I’m sure he has the answers” Stress caught his pant leg and gently pulled “right Gri?” her eyes pleaded for him to agree and they held relief when he nodded his head.

“I don’t know why. Nobody in that room is alive if they were then NPG would get them to help as well, and you can’t exactly reverse a deal made by a dead man” Grian placed his head in his hands “you shouldn’t even be here, and for that I’m sorry.”

“And what? Have you here? Alone?” Mumbo’s voice pitched, and he grabs Grian’s hand as if he was afraid he’d run off and they’d never find him. He began to hyperventilate until Grian squeezed back and coaxed him away from a panic attack. “A-and besides, whatever NPG does is by any means your fault.”

“Yeah, dude, no way. I’d rather have all of us here together than have you here alone.”

Stress agreed and grabbed Grian’s other hand, “We’re in this together, okay Gri, you’re not to blame for whatever he does.” 

Grian sighed in relief when it didn't look like they blamed him for NPG, but he still couldn’t help but feel responsible. He agreed nonetheless if only to appease them.


	2. Chapter 2

Taurtis and Ellen came back with four shulker boxes, they gave two to Grian, and the six of them walked along the hallway, following Ellen who had the book. Iskall had noticed numbers on the doors and pointed them out.

1998, 1999, 2001, 2002

They stopped at the door 2003, Mumbo gulped when he realised the numbers were indeed years.

“You three could stay out here if you want, I wouldn’t mind” Grian offered, but Iskall shook his head.

“No way, we’re staying together” Grian sighed, he knew he couldn’t change their minds. He opened the door and in it was another hallway, this time there were only twelve doors, and they entered the one named September.

“Well, this is where we part ways,” Taurtis moved his hands to the back of his head. “I still don’t get why you won’t let me help the two of you.”

“You are helping,” Grian bumped his hips, “you going around and fixing all the tears makes this process faster.”

“Are you perhaps scared? Taurtis” Ellen teased as Taurtis blushed.

“NO, I am not” He refuted.

“You are” Ellen giggled.

“Hey, hey Ellen we shouldn’t tease him for being scared” Grian manoeuvred himself so that he’s carrying the boxes in one arm and patted Ellen’s shoulder, “But if you are scared Taurtis we could keep the doors opened for you” he turned to Taurtis who nodded hesitantly.

“Please” 

Grian and Ellen giggled and opened the door labelled 27 while Taurtis entered a door labelled 24. Inside the room were two metal tables, like those you would see in a morgue “Taurtis, can you hear us?!” Grian called out.

“Shut up” Taurtis laughed.

“We should get started; I want out of this place” Grian looked at his hermit family. Ellen nodded, they placed their two boxes on one table and moved to a previously unseen dispenser for white surgical gloves, they grabbed two pairs and threw one air to Grian, to which he caught after he placed his own boxes on the floor next to the table.

Ellen ripped four pages from the book and handed two of them over to Grian, to which they both pinned their respective pages to the corner of their table as a reference.

The hermits sat down against the wall as they watched their friend stitch and sew together body parts from different species, all while putting on a straight face. They had no idea if it was because he was brave or because he was used to it.

Grian’s sweater sleeves were rolled up, and the three could see a few scars from what they thought was a bullet and a strange spider web-like black scar that crept down and stopped at his wrist.

“Silly and Vadie picked out their dresses,” Ellen said, breaking their comfortable silence.

“Really?” Grian paused before continuing the last stitches to attach the sea monster tail onto the body of a horse.

“Yup, but the tailor wouldn’t sell it to them, y’ know how it is” Grian nodded. The hermit finished the stitching and leaned down to get another body piece, which was the torso of an enderman, he attached it on the horse’s neck and started pinning the two together. “She didn’t want to ask you since you were busy with hermitcraft and all that.”

“Wait, why wouldn’t the tailor want to sell it to her?” Mumbo asked, and Grian almost pricked himself in surprise, he had forgotten that the rest of the challengers were here.

“Seems a bit rude” Stress grouched.

“Well, the other bride is a transgender person and the commissioner in our town has beef with Grian.”

“He threw the first punch,” Grian growled.

“You didn’t have to hit back.”

“Yes, I did.”

The normalcy was too much for Iskall, it sounded like two friends griping about a drunken bar fight, and he laughed. “How the heck are you not in jail, dude.”

“Because then he’d have to admit to losing to a guy who looked like a malnourished teenager” Grian grinned, though he was worried that Iskall might be losing it a little. He picked up the pace and started stitching.

It was then that Taurtis entered the room, having had to take a break from all the stitching he had done, “How in the world can you two go on and on without cramping?” he asked as he massaged his hand.

He saw that Grian’s first ‘puppet’ was almost complete so he started assembling the armour stand found in the box, “We stretch first, T.” 

“Oh” Grian and Ellen laughed.

They descended into silence once more, and Taurtis had gone out again to finish his end of the jobs. Grian had finished the first doll and started to pose it on the armour stand; Ellen was on their last stages of stitching, Mumbo had fallen asleep and rested his head against Iskall’s shoulder as the two other hermits talked amongst themselves.

When Ellen finished, the two decided to take a break, they discarded the gloves and sat down next to Stress. Ellen fished out their phone and started scrolling through their pictures. “Here” They showed the image of two wedding gowns to Grian. “The girls and I were about to make Invader’s and Silly’s gown, but we ran into complications.”

“I could do Invader's,” Grian offered, and Ellen smiled.

“Thanks, Gri, I’ll send you the details now.” Grian’s communicator dinged as the pictures were sent, he showed them to Stress who tried to peek over his shoulder, but she blushed upon getting caught.

“Oh, that dress is absolutely gorgeous, can I see the picture of the bride” Grian obliged. “She is beautiful” her heart absolutely melted at the sight of Invader, with a big grin showing off her beard proudly. “Iskall look” She took Grian’s comm and showed Iskall.

“Ooooh, Pretty” Iskall smiled. Mumbo snorted awake and looked around; he pressed himself against the wall when he saw two stitched up abominations against the wall.

“Hey Mumbo, look what Grian’s going to make” Stress gained Mumbo’s attention, and he looked at the dress on the comm.

“Uhhh I-I don’t think it’s a good look for either of them” Mumbo mumbled, he tried to be supportive, but it fell flat, and he grinned in uncertainty.

Grian was taken aback he had told Mumbo about Silly and Invader before he was accepted into the hermitcraft family. Still, he didn’t expect the man to disregard his family like that, unless…

His eyes caught sight of the two Frankenstein-like animals, and he snorted “Mumbo your spoon, it’s not for them; it’s for my sister’s fiancee.”

Iskall, Stress and Ellen laughed as Mumbo blushed “Oh, w-well, in that case, yeah it’s a perfect fit for her” he curled up into a ball “oh shut up.”

“What’s the joke” Taurtis called out from room 14.

“Mumbo thought the dress I showed him was for the dolls,” Stress called, and Grian grinned, happy that a member of his hermit family was talking to a member of his high school family.

“And you call me stupid?!”

“As if you haven’t made the same mistake” Grian called and got hushed in response. The man sighed and took out a pair of gloves from the dispenser; he and Ellen left the hermits to go through his communicator.

Hours went by, and Taurtis was finished with his jobs, fixing up all the tears and finalising the posing. Now he’s helping Ellen with the stitching and Grian was posing his last doll.

When Ellen and Taurtis finished and mounted the doll, a black fire appeared in the doorway and NPG waved to all of them. “Great you guys are finished, you can go now” He disappeared, and three portals appeared Taurtis, Ellen and Grian all had a tearful goodbye, and Stress, Iskall, and Mumbo could safely say they’d miss them.

The four entered their own portal, and it barely looked like any time went by, there weren’t any worried messages and the messages that did come up they had answered mere seconds ago.

“Soooo” Stress started “when are you going to start on the dress?” she asked excitedly.

Grian chuckled “I might need a bit of help if you’re willing” Stress squealed as she nodded vigorously.

They didn’t want to talk about the ‘storage’ NPG had; they didn’t want to even think about it.

But one thought entered Stress’s mind and wouldn’t stop shaking in her head, ‘Grian was used to it.’

THE END


End file.
